Review Rules On Cloning Before Advances Outstrip Society's Laws

To clone or not to clone. That is a question that needs to be addressed quickly by ethicists on a national and international level.

The debate over human cloning rose to a new level last week, with the announcement by South Korean doctors that they successfully cloned a human cell.

The doctors say the cell was only allowed to divide four times before it was destroyed.

They failed to provide backup data to demonstrate they actually had performed the experiment, but experts in the field think the South Koreans may well have been successful in the effort. Even if they weren't, there's little doubt that somebody will be successful in the not-too-distant future.

Other mammals, including sheep and mice, have been cloned. The technology that allows the cloning of these mammals no doubt could be applied to humans.

Whether it should be is another matter.

Currently, the law forbids federal funding of experiments involving human embryos. President Bill Clinton has asked the National Biotechnology Advisory Commission to look into the issue of the cloning of human cells.

It meets next month, and the advice it comes up with will be important. The issue certainly needs the attention of Congress, and the commission's recommendations could carry a lot of weight.

People involved in cloning say they have no intention of trying to create full-fledged humans.

Whether that attitude will hold up over time is highly questionable. There are probably more than a few people who would pay handsomely to have a carbon copy of themselves walking around the house. Such is the human desire for immortality. The prospect of large cash payments can change people's minds quickly on ethical questions.

These scientists, however, also say that federal research funding is important since cloning technology could be put to good use for things other than creating full-fledged humans. The cloning of "stem cells," for instance, could be helpful in the treatment of Parkinson's and other diseases.

The thought of creating humans through cloning is troubling, some might even say terrifying. But creating genetic material through cloning that could cure or mitigate diseases is something else again.

The issues are complex, and the Biotechnology Advisory Commission has its work cut out for it. There very well may be good reasons to provide federal funds for research on the cloning of human cells, assuming that research stops short of producing humans.